1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting two bonded glass plates and, more particularly, to an apparatus with double laser beams for cutting an LCD cell and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor technique evolves and various electrical devices is made available, electrical displays, such as LCDs, VFDs, PDPs, and ELDs, serving as a bridge between the electrical equipment and operators, play an important role. LCD, with the advantages of low power consumption, thin profile, light weight, low driving voltage and color display, has especially been put to many practical uses.
In fabricating a small-size LCD, in order to increase product yield and decrease process costs, a plurality of liquid crystal cells are simultaneously formed within two bonded glass plates. Therefore, prior to injecting liquid crystals into the cell, the double-layered glass substrate must be cut to separate the cells. Alternatively, the cells can be separated after injecting liquid crystals into the double-layered glass substrate. FIGS. 1Axcx9c1G are schematic diagrams showing a conventional method of forming liquid crystal cells. As shown in FIG. 1A, a plurality of transparent electrodes 3, 4, 5 and 6 are formed on an upper glass substrate 1 and a lower glass substrate 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, a plurality of alignment layers 7, 8, 9 and 10 are respectively formed on the transparent electrodes 3xcx9c6. Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, a sealing material 12 and 13 is coated on the edges of the upper glass substrate 1 and the lower glass substrate 2, and granular spacers are spread on a display area surrounded by the sealing material 12 and 13. Using bonding technique, the upper glass substrate 1 and the lower glass substrate 2 are bonded to become a laminated structure 16. Thereafter, by applying adequate heat and pressure to the laminated structure 16, the sealing material 12 and 13 is hardened to define a plurality of gaps 14 and 15 to be filled with liquid crystals before or after the cutting process.
As shown in FIG. 1D, scribing lines are scribed with a blade 25 on the outer surface of the upper glass substrate 1 so as to form half-cut lines 17. Then, as shown in FIG. 1E, by turning over the laminated structure 16, scribing lines are scribed with the blade 25 on the outer surface of the lower glass substrate 2 so as to form half-cut lines 18. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1F, using the blade 25 or applying a stress to the half-cut lines 17 and 18, the laminated structure 16 is cut off along the scribing lines, thus separating liquid crystal cells 20 and 21. If liquid crystals 22 and 23 are injected into the cells 20 and 21, the cutting result is shown in FIG. 1G. Finally, steps of grinding and cleaning are required to complete the cutting process.
However, the step of turning over the laminated structure 16 inflicts damage on the cells 20 and 21. In addition, the two steps of scribing the scribing lines respectively on the glass substrates 1 and 2 increase the process time. Furthermore, by using the blade 25 to scribe the scribing lines, lateral stress on the glass substrates 1 and 2 causes rugged cutting lines that need extra smoothing. This decreases the quality of the cutting process and increases production costs.
Thus, a novel apparatus for cutting the liquid crystal cells and a method of forming the same is called for.
The present invention provides an apparatus with double laser beams for cutting a laminated structure into liquid crystal cells to solve the conventional problems.
The apparatus for cutting a laminated structure formed by two bonded glass substrates comprises a worktable, and at least one laser generator. The worktable has at least one liner opening, wherein the laminated structure is placed on the worktable and a predetermined scribing line on the laminated structure is aligned to the liner opening. The laser generator generates a first laser beam over the worktable and a second laser beam under the worktable. The first laser beam irradiates the predetermined scribing line on the upper glass substrate of the laminated structure. The second laser beam passes through the liner opening and irradiates the predetermined scribing line on the lower glass substrate of the laminated structure.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide double laser beams to simultaneously cut the upper glass substrate and the lower glass substrate.
It is another object of the invention to omit the step of turning over the laminated structure during the cutting process.
Yet another object of the invention is to avoid the problem caused by lateral stress.
It is a further object of the invention to assure the cutting quality.
Still another object of the invention is to reduce cutting time and process costs.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.